Missouri has made it official: Ryan Walters is staying on as Tigers defensive coordinator.

The school announced Wednesday that Walters, who has been on MU staff for the past five seasons, will stay on with new head coach Eliah Drinkwitz.

“Since connecting with Ryan I’ve been very impressed with his ability to lead people and connect with the players,” Drinkwitz said in the announcement. “I’m impressed with his work on the defensive side of the ball, I look forward to building on what’s already been established, the foundation that’s been laid. I look forward to Coach Walters leading a championship-style defense here at Mizzou.”

Walters became Mizzou’s defensive coordinator for the 2018 season after previously being a co-coordinator and defensive backs coach.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to continue to build on what we’ve done defensively this past season,” Walters said in a release. “We’ve got a good group of guys coming back and they’re excited to get to work. Columbia has been very good to me and my family and we’re thrilled to be part of the community and Mizzou. I’m excited to work with Coach Drink, he’s one of the most respected bright minds in our profession, and I’ve been impressed with his energy, organization and vision in our short time together. I’m looking forward to competing under his leadership and getting us on top of the SEC East.”

In 2019, Walters’ unit ranked in the Top 20 nationally in several major categories, including total defense (No. 14 NCAA/No. 3 SEC– 312 yards per game average) and scoring defense (No. 17 NCAA/No. 6 SEC – 19.4 avg.) while excelling as a Top 10 pass defense (No. 8 in passing yards allowed NCAA/No. 2 SEC – 179.3 avg.).